Kaya noted that people reject the package either because they oppose the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) or because they don’t want democratization and argued that by not supporting amendments to the Sept. 12 Constitution, which caused major devastation in the East and Southeast, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is going to be held accountable in the future. He explained that intellectuals and democrats will not adhere to the BDP’s decision to boycott the referendum.
Sept. 12 will be a critical day just like it was exactly 30 years ago. That is because on Sept. 12, 2010 critical amendments to the Constitution prepared after the Sept. 12, 1980 coup are going to be voted on in a referendum. Political parties have already determined their stance on the referendum to be held on that day. A debate erupted among Kurds and leftists after the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which opposes the package, and the BDP, which announced it will boycott the referendum, took a position against the amendments. One of the people who criticized the BDP is the former president of the İstanbul Kurdish Institute, Kaya. Explaining that he will vote “yes” in the referendum to make changes to the Constitution, Kaya said he made this decision as someone who feels the effects of the 1982 Constitution down to his bones.
Noting that he was a high school student when the Sept. 12 coup took place and went to university in the ensuing atmosphere of pressure and constraint, Kaya said: “We were subjected to horrific practices during that period due to the laws, the Constitution and the Higher Education Board [YÖK] law. The 1982-drafted Constitution is the soul of the practices and mindset at that time.” He explained that no one can deny that the articles being changed are antidemocratic or that the amendments being made are democratic, adding that “so then why should we reject them? Either people want to reject them because it is the AK Party that is implementing them or because they do not want democratization. As an intellectual that wants Turkey to democratize I support these amendments regardless of who is implementing them.”
Explaining that he does not understand why the BDP is opposing the constitutional amendment package, Kaya said he believes the party will not be able to justify their decision in the Southeast. “These kinds of decisions will be questioned in the historical process. The BDP is going to be held responsible in the face of history because they are defending the status quo and antidemocratic articles against change. They are going to be blamed for not supporting amendments to a constitution that caused major devastation in the East and Southeast.” Kaya noted that the BDP’s boycott decision will not find support in major cities and said: “This is not right. People need to think about this. People should not be indifferent to amending a constitution that is the outcome of the Sept. 12 junta and fascism. They should vote for the amendments.” Criticizing the AK Party, Kaya said: “I wish it [the government] had made these amendments a long time ago and in a much broader way. I wish it had included articles that are trump cards for the opposition such as the election threshold and the immunity of deputies in this package as well.”
Kaya shared his assessments on how the MHP and leftist parties have formed a “no” front and said: “I have questions about those on the left who are against the amendments. They say that the AK Party is concealing its true intentions about democracy. I don’t think their reason is this simple and innocent.” Noting that some dark forces are resisting changes to the Constitution and that people are developing their stance according to this situation, Kaya said, “I don’t think the democratic left, in other words the silent and conscientious left, will take the bait.”
Kaya criticized the BDP, which is calling on its constituents to boycott the referendum and not to participate in it, and explained that the next two months could turn into an important opportunity for the democratic Kurdish opposition. He reckons that this period could serve as a means for parties that have not been able to express themselves thus far such as the Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP), pro-Kurdish Rights and Freedoms Party (HAK-PAR) and independent democratic intellectuals to express themselves and communicate with the people. Calling on everyone who identifies himself or herself as a leftist or intellectual to work to have the constitutional amendments be approved in the referendum, Kaya stated that “today is the day to take charge. Everyone should show his or her reaction to antidemocratic and fascist practices and do whatever s/he can do as much as s/he can.”
